Christchurch’s famous tram derails on new $3.6m loop track – but sign simply says the stop is ‘out of order’

A multimillion-dollar extension to Christchurch’s tram route is off limits just months after it opened.

It is understood a tram derailed on a new section of the track on January 15, and trams have been barred from using the new loop since.

Christchurch City Council is investigating the issue.

The new route opened last June and extended 500 metres along Lichfield St, down Poplar St and back up High St to create a loop, at a cost of about $3.6 million.

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It helped attract more visitors to that part of town.

Sue Sullivan, chief executive of Christchurch Attractions, which owns the tramway business, said there had been an “issue” on the loop.

She said the company did not own the tracks or the overhead lines, and directed questions to Christchurch City Council.

Sullivan would not say what the “issue” was or what caused it. A sign at a new stop on the loop simply states the stop is out of order.

But a nearby business owner said a tram had derailed.

“Until there is an investigation and the council are comfortable, we are not able to operate (on the new loop),” Sullivan said.

When asked if it was an inconvenience having the loop closed, Sullivan said it had not been in use for years, so they had just returned to the previous route.

Trams are once again stopping at Manchester St, and drivers have to disembark, shift poles and reverse.

Council head of transport Lynette Ellis confirmed there was an incident with a tram in January and, following this, services had ceased using the extension.

She said she was unable to discuss the issue further due to an ongoing investigation.

But business owner Nick Annear​ said a tram came off its tracks close to his C1 Espresso cafe on January 15.

He did not see the incident but thought it was weird that the tram had not moved in a while, so took a closer look and saw it had derailed.

The tram had helped bring in additional customers, he said, which was welcome after the coping with the Covid-19 fallout and dealing with the disruption caused by the construction of the new tracks, which took six months longer than expected.

He said it was hard to tell how many additional customers the tram had attracted, but he had seen fewer customers with tram maps out on the table since the loop closed, and hoped it would be back up and running soon.